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Alfred Kinsey publishes "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male", with his research indicating that more than half of the male population have been excited by other men.
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McCarthyism begins, firing thousands of homosexuals.
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The famous gay rights organization is formed on the University of Southern California campus.
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"Sexual deviants" barred from entering the United States.
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McCarthyism ends.
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Illionois is the first state to decriminalize consentual, private sex between homosexuals.
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The New York Mattachine Society leads the first protest in front of the White House. The ten protestors got national te;levision coverage.
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John Money performed the first full male-to-female sex-change operation in the US.
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New York City police raid the Stonwall Inn. The bar's patrons, including gays, lesbians, and transvestites, violently resist.
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Connecticut successfully repealed the laws, but Idaho was forced to reinstate them after pressure from conservative and religious leaders.
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American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from the list of mental disorders.
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The National Gay Task Force, later renamed the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is begun in the state of New York.
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California's Santa Cruz County becomes the first in the nation to ban antigay discrimination.
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Gilbert Baker designs the symbol of the gay rights movement, the rainbow flag.
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Wisconsin becomes the first state to pass a law allowing gay rights.
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The ADA very specifically bans AIDS-based discrimination.
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Two gay men are sentenced to five years in prison in Michigan for having sex in a public park. Way to go guys, you're really helping.
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After President Clinton's election into office, he looks into overturning the ban on gays in the military. Opposition from Republican Congressmen and religious groups force him to settle for the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
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President Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act, stating that marriage is the union between a 'man' and a 'woman'. However, no law at any level defines a man or woman.
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California creates a registry for same-sex couples which at first granted only hospital visitation rights. Further benefits were added over the next eight years.
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Vermont establishes a separate equivalent to marriages for same-sex couples.
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Rev Jerry Faldwell, one of the hosts of The 700 Club, blames gays lesbians, and others for the September 11 attacks while Pat Robertson nods in agreement. There is massive outcry from both ends of the political and activist spectra.
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Massachusetts legalizes marriage between couples of the same sex, where only 'civil unions' were allowed previously.